


Ending 2B

by PROMARE_D_Lost



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:48:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21641713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PROMARE_D_Lost/pseuds/PROMARE_D_Lost
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT FOR THE MOVIE IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT!!In another place and time, Kray Foresight kills Galo Thymos before Lio Fotia and he can form the Galo de Lion. What happens next?
Relationships: Aina Ardebit & Heris Ardebit, Aina Ardebit & Lio Fotia, Kray Foresight & Galo Thymos, Lio Fotia & Burning Rescue, Lio Fotia & Galo Thymos
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. Ending 2B & Staff Credits

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [AU-vember: Promare Edition](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21438373) by [Kyuubiluver342](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyuubiluver342/pseuds/Kyuubiluver342). 



> Trigger warnings: Depiction of violence; being burned alive; murder/homicide.
> 
> Inspired by Chapter 22 of AU-vember (see above), wherein Kray shoots Galo. I'll refer to that as Ending 2A. I could easily see Ending 2A having happened in place of the events of the movie (i.e., Ending 1), but from the former's perspective, I don't think he'd find that nearly good enough as a means of finally getting rid of the latter. Not compared to... some other method.
> 
> Also, this contains several headcanons and is unbeta'd. Some parts may be confusing, some parts may sound repetitive, and a major plot element may be entirely medically inaccurate. Hopefully you'll enjoy anyway, but comments and feedback (for suggestions for improvement) are always welcome!!

When he suddenly finds the strength to crack his eyes open again, he realizes that (a) his cheek is numb against the cold, rough floor beneath him, (b) his entire body aches, and painfully so, and (c) he’s _exhausted_.

Then it hits him, just as hard as Galo Thymos punched him in the face. He’s aboard the Parnassus! He’d finally, finally set his plan in motion, and now that _idiot (!!!)_ , plus that wretch Lio Fotia, is going to ruin it!

Kray Foresight can only squint, but as he appraises his surroundings, he notices Galo holding Lio Fotia upright… yet he’d been dying! Had he somehow managed to revive him?!

He soon realizes that, given the circumstances, they’re both probably completely off-guard where they wouldn’t be normally.

And oh, his grin is feral.

His Promare vibrates within him, on the verge of screaming a second time, and once again he silences it, pushing down the urge to burn – no, explode now.

Just for a moment…

Abruptly, he remembers the weight of his gun against his leg. He always carries it with him, just in case of an emergency like this.

But…

But.

Kray Foresight _despises_ Galo Thymos. Has hated him since the moment he met him. Shooting him and being done with it so quickly and painlessly after all the hardship he’s caused him? Not a chance.

No, he’ll _make him suffer._

Kray’s hand trembles slightly as he aims it towards Galo and directs the last dregs of his flames at him.

* * *

Galo blinks as his brain, given the circumstances, slowly processes that a pink-and-orange blaze is suddenly headed right for Lio and him. He doesn’t even think about it: He shoves Lio to his left. Lio blinks as his brain slowly processes the heat ( _not warmth, not from this one_ ) and electromagnetic wavelengths of a Promare from behind him, then that he’s on his side, on the ground again.

Two seconds later, Galo is set on fire.

“GALO!!”

“Oww, hot hot hot!!”, he shouts, but unlike every other time today, this time his pain isn’t just something to complain about. It, well, _burns_. Even though it’s the same kind of flame, somehow it’s so much worse than when that woman who became a Burnish right in front of him set his arm ablaze…

Lio lights him on fire next, trying his absolute damnedest to protect him like he did before. But his Promare can’t restore anyone else’s body but his own, and it doesn’t seem to be able to absorb or diminish Kray’s flames. He strains all his muscles, focuses all his thoughts on putting Galo out, even attempts to strain his very soul.

Nothing happens. Lio pants, on his knees, spent.

Five seconds have passed, and Galo is still burning.

Surprisingly, he’s starting to hurt less and less, but a new problem comes up: he begins coughing violently as the flames reach his lungs. It feels like he can’t get a breath in anymore, but after a couple more seconds of struggling with all his might he manages to somehow.

But he knows he’s quickly running out of time.

They all are.

“Lio! Save… the Burnish! Save… the world!”, Galo gasps between coughing fits. “Finish what… we started! I know… you can do it!”

Lio looks back up at him incredulously. His expression soon morphs into one of cold fury, like in the cave.

“I need your stupid firefighter spirit to do that! The Promare told me, they have to burn the world down, just once, and you need to keep everyone and everything safe from their flames at the same time…!”

Oh.

And yet:

“Burning Rescue… my squad… is below us! They… can help you… instead!”

It takes another couple of seconds for Lio to recall whom they are. Perhaps… that could work.

But…

“Then what about you?! After everything we just went through, do you expect me to leave you behind to die?! Like Thyma?! Like Gueira and Meis?!”

“It’s not… like that!!”, he pushes out. He can feel it, his insides becoming molten. “We don’t have time… for you to sit here… and watch me… burn to death! The world’s… about to be… swallowed up by… magma! Remember?!”

(He doesn’t dare to mention that it seems like there’s nothing Lio can do to save him, either.)

“Of course I do, you idiot!!!”

For one of only a few times in his life, Galo stills.

Lio’s cast his face down, but he can still see his grimace. And he can still see streaks of water trickling down his face.

Something inside him that is shockingly still whole clenches painfully. Argggh, he hates it when people are in pain and he can’t do anything to help them! Especially twice in one day…!

“… Hey, Lio.”

Lio startles, directs his gaze at him. Remembers himself and scrubs his face before adopting a glare.

“Don’t… worry about me.” Galo’s fighting to swallow his coughs down. “I’ll… be OK!” He smirks with all his usual bravado, does a thumbs-up, and dramatically points towards his heart. “Because of my… burning firefighter spirit!!”

For one of only a few times in his life, Lio Fotia is lost for words. Fortunately, or rather not, an occurrence presents itself which doesn’t necessitate them:

Kray Foresight has risen to his feet.

(His grin hasn’t changed this entire time.)

Galo’s reflexes are sharper now; he throws himself at him without another word. Kray lifts his arms to meet him, and they lock hands, only being able to hold each other back.

“Now, get going!” Galo starts coughing again. Kray takes advantage of the lapse of Galo’s force to shove him, but he pushes against him as hard as he can.

“But – !”, Lio protests as he finally rises to his feet.

“Remember… what you said! In… the Lio de Galon!!”

Lio’s still-teary eyes widen. He shuts them tightly, grinding his teeth again. Then:

“… Dammit all!! Galo Thymos!! I won’t forget this!!!”

He declares this so angrily that Galo can’t help but smirk (even though it’s tinged with a bit of remorse). Then, finally,

he leaves both of them behind.

Galo sighs in relief as he watches him go. For a second time, Kray almost catches him off-guard, but he still doesn’t quite manage to overtake him.

And he becomes as serious as he will ever be. This… is his last rescue mission. More than he already has, he won’t mess it up!!

“Kray! I’m… your opponent! And I _will_ see this… rescue mission through… to the end!!”

* * *

By the time Lio somehow manages to make his way down to Burning Rescue’s current location, several minutes have passed since that bastard Kray set Galo ablaze. Burning Rescue is standing close together with a couple of new faces. Everyone’s gazes are aimed upwards, their eyes full of varying degrees of trepidation.

And Lio realizes: They’re probably looking for signs of Galo.

All he can do in response is dig his fingernails into his palms and take a shaky breath. So he won’t waste time with screaming until he loses his voice, crying until he can’t anymore, burning hotter and brighter until there’s nothing left to save.

(He allowed both his people and Galo to be put in a position where they’re dying as he speaks, as he inhales and exhales. Despite all the power he possesses because of his Promare…)

Shouts of “Lio Fotia!” greet him as he finally finds himself standing a couple of yards away from everyone.

“Where’s Galo?!”, the pink-haired pilot from before asks, wringing her hands together.

For what feels like an eternity, no one moves or says anything. Then Lio breathes in and out, more deeply than he’d normally be afforded a chance to, and states with a minimally shaky voice:

“… He’s holding off Kray Foresight.” Relief spreads through (most of) his audience, until they recognize the implications of what he’s saying. Lio isn’t with Galo, and Galo isn’t here. “Kray used his flames against him. I attempted to shield him from them, but my efforts were unsuccessful. … He’s only just clinging to life. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Several things happen at once:

The pilot takes a couple of steps backwards as she mumbles, “Wh-What?” Her face becomes ashen, and her eyes fill with water. She quickly sinks to her knees.

Another woman, one with shorter pink hair, looks incredulous. She doesn’t quite seem to know what to do with her hands as she uses them to cover her mouth, reach out towards her counterpart, as she drops them at her sides. She settles for leveling a grim, regretful gaze towards the horizon.

The red-capped man and green-haired man from their previous battle do something similar.

One of the new faces, a muscular man sporting dark shades, lets his shoulders fall a fair degree and cleans off said sunglasses with his jacket. Not once does he open his eyes; not once does his expression change.

Finally, another of the new faces, a short woman with blonde pigtails, rushes up to Lio and roughly prods him in the chest. “Quit messing around! Galo would never go down that easily! Not with that burning firefighter spirit of his!”

Lio smiles fondly, although he won’t take stock of this until much, much later. “I know all about that.” He sets his mouth into a line again. “But as much as I’m loathe to believe it myself… it happened right in front of me.”

The woman’s face falls. She pushes him away.

“But that’s…! He’s really gone…?”

Then a spark of recognition flits across her face, only to transform into unbridled fury.

“Wait, wait! You couldn’t save him, _and_ you left him to die alone?! What the hell?!”

Lio swallows his immediate offense. He can’t blame her, they don’t know each other. “Absolutely not.” But he can’t help it from bleeding into his voice.

The giant man pipes up, “Yeah, Lucia. We all heard it, Galo teamed up with him in that huge black mech. Do you think he would’ve done that with someone who’d run away at the first sign of danger? Or that he’d blame him for him dying in a fire that he didn’t start?”

Lucia startles at his questions. “Varys…” Then she sighs. “… Dammit. You’re right.”

The green-haired man jumps in, “Now, that _isn’t_ to say that you’re not going to tell us _exactly_ what happened when all this is over.” His expression is professional, yet cross as he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Correct, Captain?”

“Mm,” the captain nods.

“In the meantime, you sought us out for a reason,” the green-haired man resumes. “Can the world still be saved? And if it can, what can we do to help?”

Everyone’s staring at Lio with anticipation, including the previously-distraught pilot. She’s been sobbing quietly, but now she swipes at her face aggressively.

Her expression isn’t wrathful, but it is determined. It’s the same with the rest of Burning Rescue (except for the captain, his countenance just isn’t giving away anything about what he’s thinking).

Lio’s a bit impressed by this, and by the fact that they’re not questioning the very leader of the Mad Burnish more.

“Yes and yes. That’s why Galo sent me ahead. … It’s not an exaggeration to say that all of you are the Burnish’s, and the Earth’s, last hope for survival.

Up until a couple of minutes ago, I was… the Parnassus’ new core.” Lio scrubs at his arm absentmindedly, attempting to drown out the sensations of his people and him wearing their voices down to ashes, their immeasurable pain brought about by the Prometech engines. “While I was in there, I synchronized with several of the Promare, the living beings that give us Burnish our power, all at once. They informed me that we can prevent our planet’s exploding from its core by allowing them to burn themselves out. And to do that, we must allow them to set the world ablaze, fully.

I’ll be responsible for that part. In the meantime, we’ll also need as many of you as we can possibly fit into the… robot you mentioned earlier.” Uttering its real name aloud so soon would sting too much, so he opts not to. “The Promare attune themselves to the wishes of humanity, so we’ll use your wills as firefighters to protect the world from the normally-destructive effects of their flames.

You will need to be as in-sync with each other as possible for us to have the best chance of success.” There are side-glances and mutters as he finishes, “Does anyone have any questions?”

“… No,” the pilot says. “We can do that.”

He worries if they can. Galo is – was – a fairly special non-Burnish. Trying to take his place may prove to be impossible.

The captain suddenly yells, “Burning Rescue!” and holds his fist out. The rest of the squad makes their way over to him, and they lift their own fists. The pilot gives Lio a look, grabs him by the arm, and drags him along with a “Wh-What?” from him.

For the second time, all their eyes are on him. And although he’s only known a majority of them for approximately one week, he thinks he understands.

He stretches his arm into the center of the circle and balls up his hand.

“… For Galo. For our planet, and for _everyone_ living on it.”

They all nod – some of them are even smiling at him, albeit faintly – as they bump their fists against each other’s and his.

“Burning Rescue…!”

“… dispatch!”

(He’s not concerned anymore.)

* * *

Galo’s finally, finally sputtering out to a spark. He’d honestly surprised both Kray and himself by his being able to duke it out with him for almost another minute after Lio had made his exit, but by the end of that minute he’d collapsed against his former hero, and so he'd kicked him away. Yet, and despite Kray’s cursing him out, now neither of them can get up anymore. Plus Galo can no longer make out anything he’s saying, so it’s a win-win.

As his eyes start rolling into the back of his head, and as his legs buckle from underneath him, Galo’s last words are a whispered, “… I’m sorry…”

He’s sorry, of course, for ever having believed in Kray. For not having fought back harder against him when he’d shown him the Parnassus. But he’s also sorry for all the people, Burnish and non-Burnish alike, whom he can’t save from Kray’s plan. Burning Rescue especially. Heck, and he knows how selfish this is, that he can’t finish what he started, because being part of the Lio de Galon alone was so _cool_ …

That he ever captured the Mad Burnish. That Lio had to watch him being set on fire. That now, his name’s just going to be added to the list of failures that Lio’s keeping. (He’s pretty sure of this, even with how little he actually knows about him.) Nothing more than another weight on his shoulders as he steps into the future.

Yet he rests easy in the fact, not the chance, that Lio, and everyone else, will survive this. Because he knows that Lio and Burning Rescue won’t let the world down. Not like he did.

As his eyelids close, his muscles relax, and he blacks out, Galo’s also comforted by a f a m i l i a r, t i n k l i n g l a u g h t e r . . .

Kray strains his body to be able to look up and begins cursing a second time when he notices that Galo’s corpse is smiling peacefully.

Galo Thymos passes away.

* * *

Lio and Burning Rescue spend their trek back up the Parnassus finally introducing themselves to each other as well as further discussing the logistics of their plan.

Which unfortunately doesn’t prepare any of them for the sight awaiting them on their way to the Lio de Galon.

“ _Galo!!_ ” Aina cries out in anguish. He’s not coated in flames anymore, but now…

… now, he’s nothing more than a charred husk. If anyone else had been up here with them, Lio can’t say that he would’ve been able to tell him apart from them.

“ **KRAY FORESIGHT!!** ”, he screams, forgetting himself and lunging for the bastard.

But someone holds him back, drags him to their side. His wrath quiets, just for a moment, as he stares up at Ignis.

There’s a glint to his shades that wasn’t there before. He can’t be sure, but… he thinks it could be dangerous.

“… Leave him be. We don’t have time to waste on any unnecessary side-trips, correct?”

“…!! No… We don’t.”

Ignis nods and releases him. He dusts himself off, as if discarding this moment of unexpected weakness. ( _And how many exactly has he had today? Damn that Galo…!!_ )

“I’ll arrest him,” Ignis states, grabbing his ice gun (a chill runs down Lio’s spine as he recognizes it, but he reins it in) and pointing it straight at Kray. “Make sure he can’t do anything else. You all go on ahead.”

The rest of Burning Rescue moves to protest, but the captain holds up his other hand to them in a “stop sign” motion. “This is an order. Are we clear?”

“… Yes, Captain.”

“Good. Now move out.”

“Yes, Captain,” they obey a bit less bitterly, shuffling forward. Lio trails behind them, glancing back at Ignis, who in turn gives him a curt nod.

He nods back. No matter what happens next, at the very least, they have an understanding about Kray. And that’s good enough for him.

* * *

When they arrive at the remains of the Lio de Galon, Lio gestures for everyone to bring it in.

“For this to work, we must set our anger aside. At least for the moment.” His gaze becomes steely. “I know you have good reason for it… as do I. But if we maintain our fury, then the Promare will attune themselves to it and burn the world to ash. Alright?”

They all nod silently. He gives them a couple of moments to straighten themselves out, body, mind, and soul. Then he extends a fist to all of them.

“For Galo. For the planet, and for everyone.”

They answer his call.

“For everyone!”

* * *

They manage to pull it off, Lio reflects in surprise. Then again, Burning Rescue does have admirable teamwork. They only struggled to align their wills with his specifically, and not for very long.

_For Galo._ That was the one thing that had held them all together in what Lio had melancholically nicknamed the Galo de Lion.

Now it’s all over. The Promare have left them all (him) behind. Kray Foresight has been exposed as the fiend he is, and he will be punished. (Lio had wanted to kill him and be done with it, but Ignis had shaken his head. “Galo wouldn’t have wanted that,” he’d muttered, and he’d summarily backed off, recognizing that that wasn’t a fight even he was going to win.) 

Additionally, the entirety of Freeze Force; the rest of Kray’s employees; and Aina’s sister, Dr. Heris Ardebit, are currently being arrested. As Lio later discovered, she was the lead scientist for the Parnassus project. The younger Ardebit sister’s hands twitch uselessly at her side as she cries and cries and cries, head hanging low. The older sister whispers something to her, is very deliberate about not touching her, gets taken away.

Lio, who isn’t heartless, walks over to Aina and gently lays a hand on her shoulder. She whips around to face him, eyes and cheeks reddened, sniffling. He ignores all that.

“Aina… perhaps this isn’t my place, but… I just wanted to let you know that I understand why Dr. Heris did what she did.” She stares at him, uncomprehendingly. “I can’t excuse or forgive it, but I get it. I have no doubt she loves you, and she wanted to protect you, similarly to my people and me. And none of us will ever blame you for her actions.”

This seems to be the exact wrong thing to say, because her eyes somehow scrunch together even more tightly, she sniffles even more loudly, she looks even more hurt…

And she squeezes him to her tightly, sobbing into his shoulder.

Lio stiffens, visibly shocked. She feels his reaction and moves to separate herself from him when he slowly wraps an arm around her and taps her shoulder again, as if to say, “There, there.” She readily accepts his invitation, remaining in his hold until she extricates herself from it a couple of minutes later, pointedly looking away from him and mumbling a, “… Thanks, sorry.”

Throughout that time, the rest of Burning Rescue is smiling or smirking at him, sadly.

_So, it seems the rest of the world’s been suffering under Kray as well…_

Yes, it seems rebuilding and restoring the planet is going to be harder, and take longer, than he originally believed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My description of Galo burning alive is based on The Guardian's Editor press review, "What does death by burning mean?" (https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2003/apr/26/theeditorpressreview) Also, I didn't make this a part of this story because I didn't think it was important to, but Varys ended up squishing himself into the bottom chamber of the Lio de Galon whilst Lio, Aina, Remi, and Lucia crowded into the top one to become the "Galo de Lion."


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world continues to spin around every day, even though Galo Thymos is no longer its axis. It's inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case, edited because I freaking mixed up the Lio de Galon and Galo de Lion uggggggh
> 
> Also, I didn't know AO3 had its own line breaks when I was writing/publishing this, so I've swapped out most of my inferior ones with their superior ones!

The days following The Second World Blaze are as chaotic as they’d all expected them to be. For those first couple of months, reconstruction and the reintegration of the ex-Burnish into society are highly prioritized. Lio, along with Gueira and Meis, coordinates the latter and is immensely grateful that at least some people who still have power are giving it the importance it deserves. (He’d, they’d, have fought tooth and nail otherwise, but not necessarily against winning odds.) Burning Rescue manages the former. For some reason that’s beyond him, they work closely together with the ex-Mad Burnish on as many projects as possible.

One day, Lio asks Remi, the only one of them who happens to be at the FDPP station for the moment (which, for better or worse, had quickly become everyone’s worksite), “Why?”

“Hm?”, Remi glances over at him. He’s been sorting through documents related to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the like.

He gestures to his papers. “Why are you doing so much to help us? Gueira, Meis, and I alone barely even know any of you.”

“Oh, that?” Remi appraises him with his gaze. “… You really don’t get it, do you? Well, I guess you wouldn’t, considering everything.”

“‘Get it?’ What don’t I ‘get?’”

And his expression twitches, like he has no idea where to look or what to do with his mouth.

“… The whole ‘For Galo’ thing? That was a long-term commitment for us, not a short-term one. Because yes, he was an idiot.” Strangely, his glasses fog over as he pushes them up his nose. “But he was the likeable kind. … The good kind. And yes, all of us personally wish to assist with the restoration of Promepolis etcetera etcetera as well. But we’re mostly doing so because of him.”

His glasses suddenly clear, and with a faint smirk that reminds him of Galo’s, Remi adds, “And we’d like for his legacy to last longer than a couple of hours.”

“… Oh.”

(“Also, Galo wasn’t the only Burnish sympathizer of this squad.” He notes this with a factual air, not the tone of a braggart. “None of us have ever cared whether someone’s Burnish or not.”)

* * *

Their bias towards him specifically, however, is an entirely different matter.

For instance, they not only _allow_ him to attend Galo’s funeral, but also _welcome_ him to it. (Burning Rescue couldn't have, wouldn't have, cremated him, plus his corpse had been virtually nonexistent by the end of _that_ day, so they’d gone ahead and purchased a gravemarker for him. But they’d still wanted to celebrate his life like normal, as he deserved.) They also permit him to bring along Meis and Gueira, probably expecting like he has that the entire affair will be incredibly awkward for him without someone more familiar by his side. Not that Burning Rescue isn’t good company, but all of it starkly reminds him that he met them under the worst of circumstances. (Actually, Lio likes everyone in Burning Rescue quite a bit more than he ever thought he would.) 

They bury him as geographically close to the FDPP as they can, in an untouched, nondescript area that gets a lot of sunlight. If anyone asks, they say that this is where he belongs.

Lio can't help but agree.

They even allow the ex-Mad Burnish to accompany them, sans Ignis, to Aina’s apartment that night. This is where they drink, they inform them, because they can’t tarnish Burning Rescue's reputation by presenting themselves to the public as a bunch of drunkards. (They’ve never drank nearly that much, but they all know, now more than ever, how ‘eyewitness reports’ and the media could gravely twist things out of proportion.) They also comment that Galo drank with them once, that it’d been his first (and last) time, that he’d accidentally gotten drunk off his ass because he hadn’t known that he was a lightweight. That he’d been red, hiccuping, laughing even more loudly than usual until he’d cried. That he’d bear hugged all of them, even Varys, close to him and told them how awesome each and every one of them was, how lucky and excited he was to be part of the team! That he wasn’t going to let them down!

Lio feels like the ex-Mad Burnish Should Not Be Here, wonders if this is them passively-aggressively punishing him for not preventing Galo from being fatally wounded. After several more months, he discovers that they were simply attempting to tell him more about the person he'd been working alongside. What kind of person’s shoes they, he, were trying to fill. The act touches and disquiets him in equal measure.

Afterwards, Lio returns to his apartment, alone. (Gueira and Meis had offered him a space in their place, but it's tiny and he has no intention of imposing on them anymore than he already has by sweeping the Mad Burnish's feet out from underneath them when he became their newest leader in the matter of a day. So he'd refused. It was the same with the FDPP.) Somehow, it's darker, colder, lonelier than it's ever been.

In that darkness, where no one can see him, hear him, judge him for being disrespectful towards the man he couldn't save, tears streak down his face. For the first time in years, he breaks - not because he wants to, but because he physically can't hold that dam back anymore without the Promare - and he cries and cries and cries.

\--------------

The FDPP also protects him from the public’s slow-to-fade hate: their glares, insults, spitting, threats of and attempts at assault. Thankfully, his people are mostly spared from it, because everyone who still dislikes or hates the ex-Burnish has chosen to direct their animosity at him, the Mad Burnish’ big boss.

Not once does Burning Rescue allow any of it to take root. Eventually, all the haters learn to back off for fear of Varys’ and Aina’s brute strength (he soon learns that Aina can break wooden boards with one swing of her legs, and without breaking a sweat), Remi’s and Captain Ignis’ enigmatic natures, and Lucia’s hacking skills and technological motherload.

On another day, when all of them besides the captain are present at the station, he questions this. Everyone looks at each other neutrally, no one quite seeming to know where to start, until Lucia pipes up, “Well, Galo wasn’t the type to leave a job unfinished is all.”

“… What?”

“Basically,” Aina jumps in, “when Galo rescued someone, that wasn’t necessarily the end of it for him. He always extended an open offer to them: if they ever needed help with anything else, and he could help them, all they needed to do was find him, and he would.”

“‘Your job’ isn’t done yet. Not by a long shot. Is it?”, Varys adds.

Lio can’t help but shake his head. “… No.”

Eventually, he settles into a comfortable routine with them, wherein he realizes that, besides Galo, they’re the first non-Burnish individuals he’s been able to trust in years.

* * *

“Would you tell me what kind of person Galo Thymos was?”, Lio asks cautiously sometime after Galo’s burial, because again, he isn’t needlessly cruel. But he is curious, and he figures that, following that evening, he should know _exactly_ what big boots he’s trying to fill where the FDPP alone is concerned.

They do him one better and, more true to Galo’s nature, show him. A couple of months after the Second Blaze, when their favorite pizzeria finally reopens, they have him try Inferno Margherita Mega Max Pizza. (And damn if he doesn’t love how piping hot and cheesy and flavorful it is…!) They show him the inside of Galo’s locker, mostly bare now save for corners of torn photographs. “Kray?”, he dares to ask, and they can only nod. But it also has a crinkled poster of those far east island firefighters he was ranting about when they’d first met, and they all spend a night doing research on them with Lucia at the helm, experiencing varying degrees of intrigue at the prospect of fighting fires without leather gloves, clothes that can’t burn, pulley systems built into giant robots for keeping roofs from collapsing.

Lucia even recreates Galo’s rescue gear and Matoi staff. Of course, she gifts them to Lio, who vehemently refuses them at first. To him, it feels totally wrong: he fights with a bow and a sword, armor with no exposed spots and a completely different color scheme and theme. In other words, his rescue gear is only meant for him, and so it should’ve been left to be retired.

But the others don’t see it that way. “This is part of his legacy, too, and a big part at that,” Remi comments with the beginnings of a smirk. They all get in on it, until Aina adds, “Yeah, Galo was a huge show-off! Every time he could when he was getting ready to be launched, he’d turn on all the Rescuemobile’s sirens, and he’d…”

She abruptly looks down, sighs, sniffs. Rubs at her eyes and smiles wearily. “… he’d try to ‘pump up the crowd.’ He had fun doing it, but it was also a way for him to distract everyone who was watching him from their fear in the moment, their anger, their sadness.”

Yeah, that sounds just like the Galo he’d come to know.

“He liked being the center of attention, and he loved anything Matoi-related. If we retired all his rescue gear, it’d be like throwing all the proof of that here away. Like… leaving his burning firefighter spirit behind in the dark.”

“And he’d be stoked to know that someone else likes the gear and wants to save people just as much as he did!"

With that, Burning Rescue convinces him to recommission it. He does, with one twist: He coats the suit in black instead of white until the only thing it reminds him of is the Lio de Galon.

So he’ll never be allowed to forget one of his biggest failures, of course, and the debts he has to repay, possibly for the rest of his life. 

But also, so he’ll never forget the essence of the other man who’d been behind that machine, the parts of him he’d come to like. His compassion for his people, his stalwart determination, his trust in a former enemy of his he’d only known for about a week. His ridiculousness, his excitement, his fortitude in the face of betrayal and madness.

And so he’ll never forget those moments only the two of them shared, when he’d felt more brave, more hopeful, more passionate, and more _alive_ than he had in years. 

* * *

“Remi?”

“Yeah?”

There’s one other thing that’s been pulling at his mind since _that_ day, and Remi, only besides Captain Ignis, is the member of the FDPP that seems to be able to hold himself together the best in the face of hard-hitting facts, questions, and the like. So he thinks he’s most suited for this thing that’ll probably sting.

“… I know this isn’t my place, so feel free not to answer. But Galo had a sleeve on his arm where the rest of you don’t. What was it for?”

Remi stills, almost dropping his cup of coffee. Lio's on the verge of telling him to just forget it when he mutters, “… You’re very observant. I suppose that’s to be expected of the former leader of the Mad Burnish.”

At that, he bristles with a glare. But Remi waves a hand as if to reassure him that he’s not insulting him, then glares right back.

“There hopefully won’t be too much harm in telling you at this point, although it may be a painful story for you. But none of this leaves this room, especially where Aina’s concerned. Are we clear?”

Lio’s taken aback: Remi’s seemingly random bouts of expressiveness, usually involving ire, are powerful and interesting to behold. “Yes.”

“Good.” The bespectacled man settles down, resting his elbows on his thighs and crossing his hands over his mouth. “… Galo was using that to cover up and protect scarring from a Burnish attack.”

Although he shouldn’t be surprised, it also does hurt to know that. Yet it paints Galo in an even more outrageous, kind, forgiving light as well.

Remi lowers his hands under his chin, huffs, smiles faintly. “Actually, that was from his first day on the job, when he met the Mad Burnish for the first time – ”

Lio’s eyes widen a fraction. He doesn’t recall that, and he knows he’d remember Galo Thymos anywhere, so that must’ve been from when Meis and Gueira were still leading them… “Did Gueira and Meis – ? ”

“Ah, no, sorry, I can see how you’d think that.” His expression becomes somber. “It was a young woman. She’d gotten stuck on one of the higher floors, and Galo, the idiot –” The corner of his lips briefly rises. “– went in only covered in our cooling agent since he hadn’t been given rescue gear yet to save her. I guess her exposure levels to Burnish flames and stress levels were too high, though, because shortly after he got them both to ground level, she awakened as a Burnish. He’d been standing right over her, checking her to make sure she was alright, so she burned him. But it didn’t seem to be intentional.

She was in denial. And she seemed to be terrified of what she’d become. None of us could bring ourselves to hold it against her. Galo said that getting burned was just part of the job, with a smile on his face. But that week, there were times when he’d suddenly have this faraway look, like he was thinking about her, worrying about her. I wonder how she fared after the Second Blaze.”

“What did she look like?”

Remi describes her to Lio, and his blood chills in his veins. _Strange_ , he thinks, _he didn’t shoot me with any freezing gear._

“… It seems as though you’re referring to Thyma. She succumbed to injuries she sustained from the Foresight Foundation’s experimentation. Worse…” He becomes guilty, because that's the least thing he should do. “… Galo asked me to let him try and save her. But that was right after our first battle, and so I still couldn’t trust him. I breathed my fire into her instead, which ultimately didn’t work. … I’m sorry.”

Remi doesn’t react outwardly. He can’t, because he’s objective enough to understand where both Lio and Galo had been coming from. At the same time, he knows that watching someone die right in front of him without being allowed, able, to do anything about it would’ve hurt Galo, and not to an insignificant degree.

It’s just one of those quirks of life he’s been finding out more and more about recently, he guesses.

“… Did she pass quickly, at least?”

“Yes.”

“Then I suppose it could’ve been worse. For her, of course, and for him."

Lio nods.

For some reason, Remi can’t help but attempt to smile fondly, trying to lighten the stagnant mood. “You know what’s funny, in some messed up way? It seems as though that was a day of beginnings for several of us.” Lio perks up a bit, curious. “Because it was also the day we all concluded that Galo really could make it as a member of the FDPP. So Captain Ignis placed him on active duty from them on.”

His smile widens a little, although it’s crooked.

Lio gets it. What a small world they live in. If Galo hadn’t attempted to rescue Thyma, then they may never have met. He may not have had to witness Thyma lose her life, and he himself may not have had to die…

He frequently questions himself as to whether or not he ever regrets getting involved with him. Would he still be alive? But then again, would the world have survived the Promare’s flames if they hadn’t come together at least the once?

Remi’s admission only muddies that water even further.

On Remi’s end, Lio doesn’t notice his weighty stare.

_… Galo entrusted Lio Fotia and the Burnish to us, and us – and the rest of the planet – to Lio Fotia. And now he’s gone._

_But he’d want Lio and his fellows to stick around. Wouldn’t he?_

He snorts quietly and with amusement. _What a small world we live in. Thanks to that idiot, the ex-Mad Burnish have become a part of Burning Rescue._

( _Given everything, of our…_

_… family._ )

* * *

Kray Foresight and company either take plea deals or are convicted of all manner of crimes against humanity. Every single one of them gets jail time. Naturally, Heris is issued one of the longer sentences, and perhaps just as naturally, Aina starts going to therapy. There’d been a history of some counselors reporting their Burnish clients to the government, so Lio and his people hesitate to do the same, but the thought lingers.

Something similar happens with the ex-Mad Burnish. Such was inevitable, but Lio, Gueira, and Meis all take their chances and go to trial so they can call in character witnesses. Scores of ex-Burnish individuals pour into their courtrooms until they’re fit to burst, telling their stories. About the lengths they went to for the sake of sheltering them, feeding and clothing them, protecting their bodies and minds both, comforting them, distracting them. Kids sobbing at the thought of their heroes being locked away forever. Adults of all ages begging with tears in their eyes for someone to save them, for once, like they’d never could but had always wanted to.

To their surprise, their public defenders call the FDPP to the stand as well. Even in their vastly different ways of being and acting – Remi with poise, Varys with some heat, Lucia with her chaotic energy, and Aina with her determination – they all say about the same thing. The ex-Mad Burnish are genuinely reformed. They’ve been helping them restore the city of their own will, free of charge, with no hostility besides when Gueira and Varys fight over pizza or Varys has to literally hold Lucia back from messing too much with Lio just to get some sort of emotion out of him besides “stoic.” (The chuckling that bubbles up at that from their audience is a fairly unfamiliar sight to behold, and not an unwelcome one.)

After several weeks of deliberation, their jury comes back with convictions on several counts of arson, which pretty much everyone expected. However, they’re given “not guilty” verdicts for multiple other counts of assault and second-degree murder. Despite everyone’s digging, no one could find any evidence that the ex-Mad Burnish’s attacks centered on harming or killing anyone, or that anyone actually got hurt or died because of them. Kray and Freeze Force were obvious exceptions, but their lawyers had justified them according to self-defense. That’s what they and their supporters old and new have been hoping for, and it is what’s right, but none of them had been sure if the city of Promepolis, and the world, were ready and willing to forgive them yet.

Given that they’ve shown no predilection for setting fires since their Promare disappeared, their sentences consist of minimalist criminal records; probation for several years, because the general populace does not by any means 100% trust them yet; and a court order to continue their work with Burning Rescue until Promepolis is restored as closely to its former glory as they can physically manage.

They all breathe sighs of relief. What few haters have bothered to come today are quickly escorted out for being unruly, and the unspoken need to keep the ex-Burnish safe. Not that several ex-Burnish individuals aren’t either, with shouts of “Boss!! Gueira!! Meis!!” and bursts of loud ugly crying. So they quickly exit the courthouse, where numerous average citizens and news reporters attempt to mob them until Captain Ignis, Varys, and even Remi block them and tell them in no uncertain terms to get lost before they have them arrested for harassment.

Lio looks at them with awe, only because something he’d considered when he was battling alongside Galo comes crashing back into him.

_In another life, Galo could’ve easily been a Burnish with that burning firefighter spirit of his._

_… It seems Burning Rescue is no different._

He huffs, allowing himself a small smile in the wake of this priceless, hard-fought victory.

He thinks they can belong with them after all.

And now, nothing’s in their way of carving a path forward for themselves. Whether with the Earth’s cooperation, or not.

* * *

**Extra**

As their reconstruction efforts are moving along ever farther, someone, and even Mad Rescue – as they’re now calling themselves, because they like it and in yet another show of support – doesn’t know whom, commissions the fledgling government to build a statue of Galo Thymos. Almost the entirety of Promepolis’ populace latches onto the idea, and so it is done, very close to the 2 eternal flames that Mad Rescue had to dissimilarly wage wars of attrition to get approved. (There’s one for the ex-Burnish, but there’s also one for the non-Burnish. Again, the ex-Burnish aren’t cruel.) Galo’s monument is made of plain materials like just about every other new construction nowadays, but its likeness is striking, from the pink spot in Galo’s eyes to his infectious grin. Of course, it soon becomes a hit, but for Lio…

… It’s strange. He just ends up having to pass by it a lot, because they’d placed it near the recently-constructed city hall, and every single time, it feels… alive. Like it’s winking, or smiling with determination, right at him.

… Somehow he misses him. They didn’t know each other nearly long enough to where he should, so he attempts to justify his longing frequently, but he just does.

(Well, he can say that him being around would’ve been a lot more helpful to their cause, but he finds that too selfish and on-the-nose, so he tries not to think that ever again.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta say, and I hope you'll agree, "And we'd like for his legacy to last longer than a couple of hours" is one of the best, and one of my favorite, lines I've ever written.
> 
> On that note, Remi is also my favorite besides Galo and Lio. Trigger, please show him and everyone else some more love and give them shorts or something too!!
> 
> Additionally, credit goes to Wikipedia for their description of eternal flames, which seem like the best way ever to memorialize the ex-Burnish: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_flame
> 
> Finally, the extra seemed out of place with the rest of the story, but I couldn’t get the idea of a monument for Galo too out of my head. Lio feels bitter sometimes that he got such a flashy thing in his honor so easily, but he pushes that aside pretty quickly. There can be no pissing contests between the dead.


End file.
